Rafael García Jr. (born August 5, 1994) is an American-born Mexican mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional mixed martial artist since 2014, García is also a former Combate Americas Lightweight Champion.

Background

García was born in Brawley, California to Mexican parents and grew up in El Centro, California, and has a sister and a younger brother. He started training martial arts at the age of 13 when his father took him to a gym to learn self-defense. He graduated from Imperial High School where he wrestled for one year. He lives in

Mexicali, Baja California Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California. The city, seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali metropolitan area is home to 1,000,0 ...

since 2013.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Racking up a 4–0 record in Mexico, García participated in the inaugural Combate Americas open tryouts and receiving a contract after winning the tryouts. In Combate Americas García went undefeated 8–0 and claiming the Combate Americas Lightweight Championship against Erick Gonzalez at Combate 44 on September 20, 2019. He successfully defended the title against Humberto Bandenay at Combate 55 on February 21, 2020. On June 13, 2020, García announced that he had vacated the title.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On March 10, 2021, it was announced that García would be replacing Don Madge against Nasrat Haqparast at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad on March 13, 2021. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. In his sophomore appearance, García faced Chris Gruetzemacher at UFC on ESPN: Hall vs. Strickland on July 31, 2021. Despite knocking Gruetzemacher down in the first round, García went on to lose the fight via unanimous decision. García then faced

Natan Levy Natan Levy (born September 30, 1991) is a French professional mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Early life Levy was born on in Paris, France to a traditional Jewish family. ...

at UFC Fight Night: Vieira vs. Tate on November 20, 2021. He won the bout via unanimous decision. García faced Jesse Ronson on April 16, 2022 at UFC on ESPN 34. He won the fight via rear-naked choke in round two. García faced Drakkar Klose, replacing injured Carlos Diego Ferreira, on July 30, 2022 at

UFC 277 ''UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 30, 2022, at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Women's Bantamweight Cha ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. García faced Hayisaer Maheshate on December 17, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 216. At the weigh-ins, Hayisaer Maheshate weighed in at 158.5 pounds, two and a half pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Maheshate was fined 20% of his purse, which went to García. García won the fight via unanimous decision. García faced Clay Guida on April 15, 2023 at

UFC on ESPN 44 ''UFC on ESPN: Holloway vs. Allen'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 44'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 15, 2023, at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, United State ...

.Rafa García He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Personal life

García and his wife have a daughter (born 2019) and a son (born 2021), both born in Mexicali, Mexico.

Championships and accomplishments

* Combate Americas ** Combate Americas Lightweight Championship (one time; first; former) ***One successful title defense

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 15–3 , Clay Guida , Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Holloway vs. Allen , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Hayisaer Maheshate , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–3 , Drakkar Klose , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Dallas, Texas, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 , Jesse Ronson , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. Muhammad 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:50 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Vieira vs. Tate , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–2 , Chris Gruetzemacher , Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Hall vs. Strickland , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–1 , Nasrat Haqparast , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 , Humberto Bandenay , Decision (unanimous) , Combate 55: Mexicali , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Mexicali, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 , Erick Gonzalez , Decision (unanimous) , Combate 44: Mexicali , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Mexicali, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Estevan Payan , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Combate 39: Unbreakable , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:50 , Tucson, Arizona, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Edgar Escarrega , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Combate 30: Mexicali , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:07 , Mexicali, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , LaRue Burley , KO (punches) , Combate 24: Alday vs. Lopez , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:26 , Phoenix, Arizona, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Chase Gibson , Decision (majority) , Combate 20: Combate Estrellas 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Los Angeles, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Marcos Bonilla , Submission (armbar) , Combate 17: El Grito En La Jaula , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:07 ,

Redlands, California Redlands ( ) is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 73,168, up from 68,747 at the 2010 census. The city is located approximately west of Palm Springs and east of Lo ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Raúl Najera Ocampo , Submission (heel hook) , Combate 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:04 , Mexico City, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Jovany Amador , Submission (armbar) , Warrior Championship Fighting 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:21 , Mexicali, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Mike Sandoval , Submission (armbar) , Warrior Championship Fighting 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:24 , Mexicali, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Dante Ramos , Submission (armbar) , Extreme Full Contact 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:06 , Mexicali, Mexico ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:García, Rafa 1994 births Living people Mexican male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Mexican practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu